I interviewed West Ham fan Marc Haxell ahead of Pompey's latest "biggest game of the season" at Upton Park.
I think it is safe to say that West Ham fans didn't expect a season quite so bad. Why have things gone terribly wrong this year after a good previous campaign?
We over-achieved last year and I think a good portion of the fans realised that at the time, although I didn't think we'd be in a relegation spot come Christmas either! The defence has really suffered with the loss of Lucas Neill (though he was too expensive to keep)and as such there's perhaps an over-reliance on Matthew Upson; this was highlighted when he missed recent games through injury.
Up top we've a similar over-reliance on Carlton Cole, not just his ever-improving goal-to-games ratio but as the fulcrum for a large portion of our attacking play - when he's not available we've little idea how to adjust accordingly.
Like Pompey, West Ham seem to have significant financial troubles. Is it likely that West Ham will have to sell players come January?
I'm still reasonably confident we won't be forced to sell anyone in cut-price deals because of the financial situation at the club despite the media rumours going into overdrive whenever a transfer window is in sight.
However, unless there is any sudden outside investment then any money spent on new arrivals will surely have to come from sales; the summer saw us sell James Collins in order to recoup the similar money spent on Alessandro Diamanti so if we're still on that even keel then that's the best situation we can hope for. I won't lie though, each day in January will still see me checking the latest rumours with fingers crossed tightly.
Are you confident that Gianfranco Zola can turn things around?
Reasonably confident, yes. Despite the restrictions each transfer window under Zola has seen a number of players sold and acquired in an attempt to address the weaknesses, and those brought in have been in the positions we are lacking even if they haven't always worked out.
The fans aren't on his back at all and appreciate the problems that exist - home games have rarely seen us outplayed by the opposition either and from what we can tell he's still got a good hold of the dressing room backing.
There are no signs of the all-out disarray and mess that we were in three years ago, and he does seem willing to change the starting line-up and bring on substitutes if games aren't going our way. Playing decent football will earn him a longer stay of execution as well.
What are the opinions of the West Ham fans when the name "Harry Redknapp" is mentioned at Upton Park?
Mixed but generally all appreciate the positives. I think only once were we in real relegation trouble with him at the helm and it was a time of watching some modern legends of the club as well as the 'rebirth' of the academy. Hell, we even had great fun watching some of his dreadful buys like Rigobert Song and Marco Boogers!
We played good passing football throughout and there were always great wins and laughable defeats in equal measures.
However the two main downsides were firstly that looking back at the players we had, there was a big chance missed to do far better in terms of league positions looking at the players we had and a look at the current
The other big gripe is that only after Redknapp left did we then find out what state the finances were in at the club - I'm sure Titi Camara (one of Redknapp's worst buys) was one of our highest earners and we had something like the fourth or fifth highest wage bill in the league.
A lot of anger was directed at the chairman at the time, Terence Brown, but I think most realised that the squad Redknapp left behind really hamstrung us after he left and his part in that can't be forgotten.
How do Hammers fans regard Hayden Mullins? He has taken quite a lot of stick from the Pompey fans since his January move.
He got a lot of stick in the months following his arrival (he was Pardew's first signing I believe) and it didn't help that he was played in multiple positions either, though once he settled into central midfield we eventually grew to like him although we all knew he'd be limited at Premier League level.
His effort and workrate while here was always appreciated and he'll always be remember as being an important and steadying part of that 2005/06 team that reached the FA Cup Final (despite him missing it). He never reached that level of performance again though so while his importance to the team quickly faded he'll always get an appreciative reception here.
I think we knew that
Carlton Cole is obviously a huge miss for your team, but who are the other influential players in the side?
Scott Parker is everywhere and everything in our midfield at the moment, Upson is critical to the defence and Robert Green, despite the odd aberration, is crucial as well. If we miss just one of those three or Cole, we're severely weakened.
What weaknesses are there in the side that Pompey could exploit come Boxing Day?
Julien Faubert at right back is always a liability that can be exploited and Herita Ilunga on the other side hasn't been anywhere near his excellent form of last season. We won't have Cole upfront so this restricts our ball retention and we find it hard to create many worthwhile chances without his presence up front. Radoslav Kovac should be a solid rock in midfield but unfortunately also has a rock's agility so can be easily bypassed.
Past
Understandably struggling with a financial situation worse than ours but given how many new faces you've had to adapt to this season I'm impressed you're not adrift at the bottom.
Grant seems to have settled in quickly and is getting useful performances out of players that some (including I) had written off such as Hreidarsson, Boateng and Finnan. Stopping Boateng breaking from midfield will be key for us as will stopping O'Hara from scheming - I worry about our fullbacks so Belhadj might be able to take advantage of that.
Both teams come into this massive game on the back of good results so how do you see this game going?
Without the 'Redknapp factor' of recent visits I'm more confident than in the past, but having said that despite the league position you're in good form. I think the midfield will be where both teams are at their strongest and is where either could dominate proceedings, and I think it'll be tight or goalless until hopefully Zola brings on Stanislas for a bit of late pace in the game to go for the win.
However with no Cole I'm edging more towards a 1-1 draw...